Agreement Includes Exclusive Rights to Eight Patents

April 10, 2012 09:01 ET | Source:Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation

KENNEWICK, Wash., April 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation ("AMIC") (OTCBB:ADMD), a company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes, has obtained an exclusive license to eight patents for injectable radiogel technology for use in high-dose radiation therapy. The license was granted by Battelle pursuant to an option between Battelle and AMIC announced in February 2011.

The Agreement grants AMIC an exclusive license to make, have made, use and sell a radiogel system including an injectable, water-based biodegradable polymer that delivers Yttrium-90 microspheres directly into tumor tissues. The solution warms to body temperature quickly after injection and then polymerizes into a lattice that traps the Yttrium-90 microspheres in place. High-energy beta particles from Yttrium-90 efficiently irradiate cancer cells within the targeted volume but very little radiation escapes. This feature maximizes the overall radiation dose to cancer cells while minimizing radiation exposure and associated side-effects in nearby normal tissues.

The injectable radiogel may also be administered transdermally or intraoperatively when treating solid tumors that cannot be removed safely by surgical excision, such as inoperable liver cancer, brain tumors, head and neck tumors, kidney tumors, and pancreatic cancer. Levels of activity may be accelerated to treat radiation-resistant solid tumors that may not respond well to conventional external-beam therapy.

Yttrium-90 is a well-established medical isotope with many applications in cancer treatment. The combination of insoluble Yttrium-90 microspheres and the radiogel carrier offers physicians an opportunity to deliver a safe, effective treatment option at a low cost.

Dr. Robert Schenter, AMIC's Chief Scientific Officer, stated, "AMIC continues to develop the Yttrium-90 radiogel line with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle. We believe that this product optimizes treatment of radiation-resistant tumors in vivo. We expect the radiogel to become a therapeutic agent that provides physicians with the ability to effectively treat tumors that cannot be removed surgically or that cannot be treated by any other means."

According to AMIC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James C. Katzaroff, the primary advantages of licensing these Yttrium-90 radiogels are multifold:

Because Yttrium-90 is a beta emitter, there is improved radiation safety for hospital personnel who prepare and handle the product.

The license agreement includes the following patents:

Title

Country

Patent No.

Stimulus Sensitive Gel with Radioisotope and Methods of Making

U.S.

6,296,831

Stimulus Sensitive Gel with Radioisotope and Methods of Making

U.S.

6,869,588

Stimulus Sensitive Gel with Radioisotope and Methods of Making

Canada

2,327,325

Thermogelling Biodegradable Aqueous Polymer Solution

U.S.

6,841,617

Thermogelling Oligopeptide Polymers

U.S.

7,087,244

Thermogelling Biodegradable Aqueous Polymer Solution

Canada

2,423,488

Multiple Stimulus Reversible Hydrogels

U.S.

6,660,247

Multiple Stimulus Reversible Hydrogels

U.S.

7,033,571

Battelle is the world's largest independent research and development organization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 22,000 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide. Battelle has managed the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., since the laboratory's inception in 1965.

Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation is a U.S.-based public company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes and in the development and identification of medical isotope technologies that are changing the practice of medicine and revolutionizing the standard of available medical care.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, including, but not limited to, statements related to AMIC's beliefs and expectations regarding the licensed patents. These statements involve current expectations and beliefs as to future events and other statements that are not historical facts. Known and unknown risks and uncertainties can affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements and cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect actual future events or results include, but are not limited to, risks relating to product development, regulatory approval, sales and marketing, and competition, risks relating to patents, and such other risks as are identified in AMIC's annual report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2011, and from time to time in other reports filed by AMIC with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this press release, and AMIC undertakes no duty to publicly announce or report revisions to these statements as new information becomes available that may change AMIC's expectations.

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